“The Gillespie campaign has been effectively run, and they used their money wisely. But polls still show a significant advantage for Mark Warner,” Farnsworth said.
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Democrats could learn from 1968 campaign (Column, Free-Lance Star)
BY VIC FINGERHUT AND STEPHEN J. FARNSWORTH
As Democrats survey the unappealing political scene of 2014, with its dispirited incumbents, energized Republican opposition and an unpopular incumbent president, they need to look back at the late innings resurgence of the Hubert Humphrey 1968 presidential campaign.
That election, waged under the some of the most unfavorable circumstances for Democrats in the last 50 years, offers three lessons: The party wins when it focuses on working-class voters; half-hearted attempts to split the difference with the GOP are doomed to fail; and this vigorous populist appeal will fall short if, like in 1968, the party waits until the last minute to push the election toward the party’s most favorable terrain in the most effective terms.
Bob McDonnell’s Corruption Trial in Virginia Symbolizes Growing Political Partisanship (New York Times)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said the divisiveness has ratcheted up as Virginia, which had not voted for a Democratic president in nearly half a century before choosing Barack Obama in 2008, has become more of an evenly split presidential battleground.
“The more closely divided a political environment, the nastier the disputes are,” he said. “Because the state is basically 50-50, all parties are engaged in the kind of trench warfare that really is a very, very distinct departure from the dynamic that previously marked state government here.”
House press offices expand as other staffs shrink (USA Today)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington who specializes in political communication, said the numbers are not a surprise. The White House always gets more media attention for its views than Congress does, he said, which is a particular problem for Republicans who control only the House and not the Senate.
“It is surprising to me that Congress hasn’t been more aggressive earlier in trying to reduce the disparity between the attention that the White House and Congress gets,” Farnsworth said.
“Since the legislative branch is mired in single-digit approval ratings, the members figure they need to invest more in getting their message out.”
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After his political resurrection, candidate Beyer adopts high-minded approach (Washington Post)
Washington Post, June 29, 2014
Beyer’s approach, while high-minded, is “unlikely to be successful” because “it’s not fertile terrain in Congress for would-be compromisers,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington political science professor.
“There are so many partisan warriors on either side that the centrists can generate a lot of hostility towards themselves,” he said.“Certainly all of his diplomatic training will come in handy on the House floor.”
McAuliffe Likely To Go To Battle Over Virginia Budget (WAMU)
Virginia Republicans have taken over the General Assembly and passed a state budget that does not include Medicaid expansion. But the battle over the budget is about to get even more intense.
One provision in the new Republican budget makes it more difficult for Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe to expand health insurance coverage for 400,000 Virginians who live in poverty or with disabilities. The new language requires legislative approval for Medicaid expansion to move forward, essentially allowing Republicans to stop it.
University of Mary Washington professor Stephen Farnsworth says McAuliffe will probably use his line-item veto to remove that provision: “The governor has made it pretty clear over the last six months that this was non-negotiable. This would be a significant adjustment in his key priority if he were to walk away from Medicaid expansion.”
